Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) by 73.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,398 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in MetLife were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 678.4% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 287,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,000,000 after acquiring an additional 250,402 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in MetLife by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,824,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,661,000 after acquiring an additional 293,925 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in MetLife by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,664,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,304,000 after acquiring an additional 240,564 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in MetLife by 50.0% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 2,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in MetLife by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 742,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,088,000 after acquiring an additional 86,091 shares in the last quarter. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at MetLife

In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Bill Pappas sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.27, for a total transaction of $1,951,290.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 57,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,174,893.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ramy Tadros sold 4,026 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.90, for a total transaction of $289,469.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 146,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,567,933.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

MetLife Price Performance

MET stock opened at $68.92 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. MetLife, Inc. has a one year low of $48.95 and a one year high of $74.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.83 billion, a PE ratio of 37.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.68.

MetLife (NYSE:MET) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $18.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.07 billion. MetLife had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 2.36%. On average, analysts forecast that MetLife, Inc. will post 8.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of MetLife from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of MetLife from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of MetLife from $74.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MetLife currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.23.

About MetLife

MetLife, Inc, a financial services company, provides insurance, annuities, employee benefits, and asset management services worldwide. It operates through six segments: Retirement and Income Solutions; Group Benefits; Asia; Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and MetLife Holdings. The company offers life, dental, group short-and long-term disability, individual disability, pet insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, vision, and accident and health coverages, as well as prepaid legal plans; administrative services-only arrangements to employers; and general and separate account, and synthetic guaranteed interest contracts, as well as private floating rate funding agreements.